Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender resume
What the work involves, what it pays, and real lines you can start from. Answer a few small questions and leave with a resume.
Also called knife setter, machine setter, nail setter and nailhead setter.
$43,380
Median pay a year
61,420
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Pay and headcount are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lines are written from what the US Department of Labor records about this work.
An example
A Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender resume, filled in
Every line below comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender
Summary
Woodworking machine setter and operator, setting up and tending machines like drill presses and lathes, inspecting wood for defects, and ensuring smooth operation and safety in the work area
Experience
Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Set up, operated, and tended woodworking machines like drill presses and lathes
Examined finished workpieces for smoothness and checked dimensions with tools
Started machines, adjusted controls, and made trial cuts to ensure proper operation
Monitored machine operation and made adjustments to fix problems as needed
Inspected raw woodstock for defects and ensured it met size standards
Fed woodstock into machines to produce desired components and shapes
Cleaned and maintained machines and work areas to ensure safe operation
Skills
Core Skills
Operating woodworking equipment, Setting equipment controls, Monitoring equipment operation, Marking equipment with labels, Inspecting lumber, Conducting test runs of equipment, Measuring product dimensions, Determining equipment settings, Mounting attachments or tools
Checking & Planning
Inspecting production equipment
Education
High School Diploma Your school, Year
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What to put on a Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender resume
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Set up woodworking machinesChecked finished work for qualityStarted machines and made cutsWatched machines and fixed problemsLooked at wood for defectsAdjusted machine settings for cuts
becomes
On your resume
Set up woodworking machines and adjusted controls to ensure accurate cuts and specifications
Started machines and conducted trial cuts to verify proper operation and quality
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The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
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Add how many machines you set up each shift
The line
Set up several woodworking machines each day and adjusted controls for accurate cuts and specifications
Add how many machines you set up each shift
Pick one that fits
Several machines each dayA few machines per shiftMost of the shop's machines
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Show what improved once the machines were started
The line
Started machines and conducted trial cuts to verify proper operation and quality
Show what improved once the machines were started
Pick one that fits
Improved quality of finished productsEnsured smoother operation of machines
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
What it is made of
Skills for a Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender resume
What this work is made of. Rung offers these and keeps the ones you claim.
What are you good at?
Operating woodworking equipment
Setting equipment controls
Mounting attachments or tools
Monitoring equipment operation
Marking equipment with labels
Inspecting production equipment
Inspecting lumber
Conducting test runs of equipment
Measuring product dimensions
Determining equipment settings
Selecting production materials
Selecting production equipment
The work itself
What a Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment.
What it pays
How much does a Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$37,100
Median
$43,380
75th percentile
$48,720
About 61,420 people do this work in the United States.
This page is about the occupation Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. Rung is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either agency. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.